Journey Of Ages
by AthanMortis
Summary: A Warrior, an Inventor, and a Princess walk into a fair, and thus, the world begins to fight back against an evil lurking since the beginning of time. Novelization of Chrono Trigger.
1. Prelude

**I don't own anything about the following work other than my own additions to it. This will not be repeated, as once should be enough.**

* * *

As the sun rose over the Kingdom of Guardia, Lucca Ashtear grumbled in her home and snuggled further into her bed to escape the light hitting her face. The plum haired girl absolutely loathed mornings, mostly because she usually stayed up late working on her inventions.

Today, however, was not a day that she would be able to stay in bed on. Her father Taban knocked on the door to her room. "Lucca, come on, it's time to get up."

"Mrf, dun wanna…" The young genius groaned into her pillow, retreating further into the sheets.

"Lucca, we need to go and start setting up the Telepod for tomorrow. I thought you were looking forward to that." Taban insisted, a wry smile on his face.

Lucca whined but slowly sat up on her bed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Ugh, fine… I guess I have to." She looked at her father blearily, which wasn't helped by the fact that she wasn't wearing her glasses. "By the way, don't forget we need to get Gato set up too. The fair organizers really want it ready for the combat junkies."

Taban chuckled. "I imagine most of its use will be by Chrono, like usual. That lad really does have fighting on the brain."

Lucca cracked a grin. "Well, at least he has a goal. I'm just glad Gato is put to good use. You know there will be others besides Chrono that will use him, though. Off duty soldiers, for example."

Taban nodded agreeably. "True. I'll make sure to get everything loaded up and move everything to the fairgrounds. You get ready and meet me there so we can start setting up." At his daughter's nod he headed away to say goodbye to his wife and do as he'd said.

Lucca sighed and slipped her glasses on before throwing her covers off. Standing and stretching in front of her mirror she caught sight of her reflection and absently studied herself.

She was decently tall and rather lean, which wasn't really shown off by her sleeping wear of an overly large t-shirt and shorts. She didn't have many curves compared to other girls, but she didn't let it get to her. She was slightly on the pale side from working inside often, but not overly so, the color contrasting nicely with her hair, which normally hung straight to her shoulders but was now a tousled mess of bed head. She smiled at herself, making her already cute face look more attractive. Overall, she was proud of her looks.

Yawning she headed to the bathroom, quickly showering. Feeling more awake she dressed before heading down to the kitchen for breakfast. She grabbed some eggs, a bit of bacon, some toast and orange juice before heading to the sitting room to eat with her mother, Lara.

As she had expected her mother was sitting at her normal place by the large window, the remains of her own breakfast set to the side and a book in her hands. The still beautiful woman looked up as Lucca came in and gave her a soft smile. "Good morning dear. You have a busy day today."

Lucca felt a familiar stab of pain at the sight of her mother. Ever since the day of the accident which had robbed her of the use of her legs, Lara had become a more subdued and taciturn soul in contrast to her previously energetic, happy self; slightly distant from her family, yet still obviously loving. Seeing the woman her mother had become brought a now well-known pang of grief to Lucca's heart. She'd lost count of the number of times she'd railed at her failure to help her mother as a child, and the many moments where she wished she could go back and do everything again.

She didn't let any of these thoughts show, however, knowing they would only hurt Lara. Instead she smiled at her and took a seat as she began to eat. "Yep! I'm really excited. This could revolutionize the world! Imagine travelling from Truce to Porre in minutes instead of days." Lucca said excitedly as she munched on her bacon.

Lara's smile grew slightly. "I always knew you'd put the Ashtear name in the history books, Lucca. I'm proud of you."

Lucca felt her eyes water slightly. Since the accident Lara had been colder to her family's interest in the mechanical, so to hear her say she was proud of her for something like the Telepod meant more to Lucca than she could say. "Thanks mom…" She said quietly.

Lara reached over and patted her daughter's knee. "Now finish eating and get to work, dear."

Lucca gave a faux salute with her fork. "Yes ma'am!"

Ten minutes later Lucca was adjusting her clothing as she left the house. Fiddling with her helmet she made her way across the bridge leading into the city of Truce, already thinking of what she needed to get done before the fair began the next day. Gato would be first, as it was the easiest thing to prepare, and as much as she didn't like it, the more important thing. The fair organizers had allowed Lucca space to set up the Telepod in part because she had agreed to let them use Gato as a fair attraction. So it was higher priority.

She was drawn out of her thoughts when she noticed a mass of girls between thirteen and twenty-five gathered around the fence of a nearby field. She smirked wryly, sure she knew what it was that had attracted their attention, and made her way over to confirm her suspicions. Her smirk widened when she saw she was correct.

Standing in the training field, topless and wielding a wooden training katana, was a young man with spiky, bright red hair. He was sweating heavily, showing he had been working hard for a while now, but every strike was powerful and every movement was fluid, showing that he was, if not a master, then at the least highly proficient with a blade for his age.

He had a handsome, chiseled face which was currently screwed up in concentration, focused on what he was doing and not on his audience. A hard body shone with sweat as powerful muscles worked hard to make every move flawless. He was well built, not too bulky, but obviously packed with muscle without being gross. His hair was held up by a white headband which kept the mass of spikes from drooping down into his face.

Lucca let her eyes travel along his body, not above ogling him with all the others when she had the chance. She was well aware nothing would ever happen between them, a fact that she'd gotten used to even though she sometimes lamented it, but that didn't keep her friend from being highly attractive. Finally, once she'd had her fill, she waved at him. "Hey, Chrono!"

Chrono gave one last slash with his practice sword before turning to her with a smile, not seeming to notice the other girls around either staring at him or glaring at Lucca. "Hey Lucca." He moved closer to her, picking up a towel he had hung on the fence and drying himself off. "How are you this morning?"

"Good." She said with a smile. "On my way to get things set up for the fair tomorrow when I spotted you and thought I'd say hi."

A look of excitement appeared in Chrono's eyes at the mention of the fair. "Great. You setting up Gato?"

Lucca chuckled. "Yes. And I'm warning you now, I'm making him tougher than he was before, so you'll need to work harder to beat him now."

Chrono grinned eagerly. "Looking forward to it. I need to be my best if I want join the Royal Guard later when they start recruiting again."

Lucca rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes, I know. You've been working toward that since you were fourteen. I think you have ulterior motives, personally."

Chrono looked at his best friend in confusion. "Like what?"

Lucca grinned. "I hear Princess Nadia is really beautiful. Maybe you're hoping you'll be invited into her bedchambers one day?" She laughed as he began to sputter out denials, red faced. "Oh wow, your face! Priceless!"

Chrono glared. "I'm not that kind of guy…" He muttered petulantly.

Lucca patted his cheek condescendingly. "I know you aren't, big guy. Most guys are, though. You know that. So it wouldn't be surprising if that really was your motivation."

"Well, I'm rather proud to not be 'most guys'." Chrono said loftily.

Lucca looked at him slyly. "So you wouldn't go into her bedroom if you were invited?" Chrono's silence and slightly red face was all the answer he needed. "That's what I thought."

"Like you wouldn't want to do the same." Chrono shot back in a lower voice so they wouldn't be overheard.

To Chrono's displeasure, Lucca didn't look embarrassed in the least, though she replied just as softly. "Of course I would. She's supposed to be gorgeous. I wouldn't mind a night with her as long as I was sure I wouldn't get my head removed for it afterward."

Chrono sighed. "I never manage to win with you, do I?"

His friend smirked. "Nope. I'd think you'd be used to it by now." She moved back. "Anyway, get back to it, you big lug. I've got to go get to work. See you later." She waved as she walked away, womanfully ignoring the glares of Chrono's admirers as he waved back before turning back to his training.

As she headed to Leene Square she mused on the conversation she'd just had with her childhood friend. She wondered what Princess Nadia was like. Probably really prim and proper, like true royalty. She shrugged to herself. It's not like she'd ever be in a position to find out.

* * *

Nadia sighed as she tuned out her tutor, who was trying to teach her something mind numbingly boring again. Honestly, how could her father be surprised at her grades when the people he brought in to teach her bored her to tears? She couldn't retain anything they taught like that!

She looked out of the window, seeing the city of Truce. The Millenial Fair was probably being prepared right that moment. She could see the colors of the fairgrounds at Leene Square if she squinted from her position.

The princess sighed. She wanted to go to the fair so badly. It sounded amazing. Besides, how often would one get to go to an even that was only celebrated every thousand years? Well, every thousand years, she guessed.

One would think that, as the royal family charged with protecting the realm, they would be expected to put in an appearance at a fair celebrating its founding. But nope, her father would not hear of her going to the event at all. It was apparently below her station to enjoy herself with the common people.

"Your Highness, are you listening?" The old woman in front of Nadia asked.

The princess' head snapped over, looking slightly guilty. "Ah, yeah, sorry. Could you repeat that last part?"

As the tutor nodded and began to recite something Nadia thought might be economics (was she the economics tutor?) she settled herself more comfortably in her seat. The dress she was wearing wasn't helping. Honestly, one would think that with how much the royal family spent on their clothes they'd at least be comfortable. What a laughable idea, she thought snarkily to herself. She'd seriously much rather wear the outfit she kept hidden in her room. At least it wasn't a skirt.

Sighing once more she gazed at the window again. Her eyes landed once more on Leene Square.

What would the fair be like, she wondered? What attractions would they have? Would they have interesting food? There would no doubt be people from all over, even Porre. Probably not Medina though.

As she stared at the window she caught sight of her own reflection and wrinkled her nose in distaste. Not at her looks. Nadia was beautiful and she knew it, with a lovely face, deep green eyes, and full lips. Her body was nice as well, slim with decent curves for her age that would only improve as she grew. That wasn't what bothered her. It was her long, blond hair. It was currently let down, and it annoyed her. She preferred to keep it in a high ponytail. When it was let down the way it was it only got in her way.

She pulled her thoughts from her appearance and back to the fair. The desire to attend was so strong she couldn't stand it. Finally, as the old tutor droned on, she came to a decision. She'd have to sneak out and attend the fair in disguise. Thankfully, despite her distinctive looks she wasn't actually that well known outside of the castle thanks to being somewhat sheltered. A fact that rankled her (being sheltered, not being unknown).

Hopefully she'd get to enjoy herself like a regular person. Possibly meet some normal people. Maybe even a cute boy. She blushed slightly at the thought before her eyes hardened. Yes, she was definitely sneaking out to the fair. She grinned slightly.

She couldn't wait.

* * *

 ** _Hello, and welcome to my new fic. This is going to be a novelization of Chrono Trigger with a few elements or interpretations of my own sprinkled in, along with one or two larger changes. I don't think I've ever seen one of these completed, so I thought I'd try my hand at it. Updates will be sporadic, as my other fics take priority to me. This probably ranks about the same as my RWBY fic when it comes to my attention to it._**

 ** _So, the first chapter is shorter than I was planning, which is why it's out sooner than I said it would be in the aforementioned RWBY fic. Originally it was going to include the events of the Millenial Fair as well, but I decided to stop here and release this as a prologue. Seeing as it is all original content, I hope it satisfies and fits in with what people expect of Chrono Trigger._**

 ** _Now, something people will have no doubt noticed and which will have no doubt annoyed some. Yes, I made Lucca bisexual. There were hints in the game, at least the properly translated one, that she is. This is mostly shown in her initial interactions with Ayla, who is essentially confirmed to be bisexual and open about it, seeing as taboos on that didn't exist in prehistory._**

 ** _This Lucca is bisexual, but is only open about it with Chrono, since he's her best friend. Hence their speaking in low tones when referencing it. Chrono obviously accepts her about it, which has strengthened their friendship tremendously._**

 ** _I fully expect to get some hate about this decision, but I'm not changing it. Sorry if you can't deal. As it is, I'm not sure it'll feature much importance in the plot beyond being a facet of Lucca's character that might occasionally be referenced. It all depends on my next decision…_**

 ** _The pairing is obviously going to be Chrono/Marle. This is a novelization, that's the canon pairing, and it's a pairing I happen to like. The thing I'm pondering is whether to change things enough to add Lucca to that pairing and make it a trio. It's something I'm seriously considering, and while reader input is welcomed, I want to stress that the final decision on this is mine._**

 ** _On another note, Chrono Cross is not canon with this. I think it's a good game, great even, on its own. As a sequel to Chrono Trigger, however, I_** **despise** ** _it. I truly do. So nothing about it will be referenced. Besides, I never finished it cause my copy got messed up, so I wouldn't know how or what elements to incorporate._**

 ** _One last, minor thing. People might find it odd that Chrono's name is, well, Chrono. That's because that's his original name. The reason everybody knew it as Crono is because the SNES version could only use five letters for the names you could choose, and the H didn't fit. I'm sticking with the proper version with the H added in. Just FYI._**

 ** _I believe that is everything I need to say for now. Please leave a review at the exit letting me know your thoughts. Till next time._**


	2. Fair Beginnings

As Leene's Bell rang early in the morning, celebratory explosions went off throughout the square as the Millennial Fair officially began. The noise could be heard throughout the city of Truce, including a modest home belonging to a woman named Gina and her son, Chrono.

Gian sighed in exasperation as she headed up the stairs to her son's room, the family cat, Luke, following behind. "Honestly, that boy. You'd think he'd be up by now, considering how excited he was for the fair." She entered his room to find a spiky mass of red hair sticking out of the covers of the bed, low snoring easily heard from beneath them. "Chrono, time to get up." She went to the window and opened the curtains, letting sunlight stream in. She sighed as she took in the sound of the bell continuing to ring. "Leene's Bell always sounds wonderful in the mornings, doesn't it?" She turned to see the mass beneath the covers start to shift. "You were so excited about the fair you didn't get any sleep, did you?" She walked back toward the stairs. "Come on, get up. You don't want to miss the entire fair, do you?" She smiled as her son began to force the covers off and left the room.

Chrono yawned and stretched as he sat up on the bed. Considering how high the sun already was, he knew his mother was right. He quickly got up and did some stretches before getting dressed.

A few minutes later Gina looked up as she heard Chrono make his way downstairs. "Well now, it's about time." Then she remembered something. "Oh yes, you were going to go see Lucca's new invention, weren't you?"

Chrono nodded. "Yeah, I promised I'd stop by and check it out. I'd better make sure to be there, or she'll never let me hear the end of it."

His mother let out a gentle laugh. "Yes, she can be fierce when she wants to be, doesn't she? Well run along now. Be back before dinner." Chrono made his way over and kissed her on the cheek before beginning to make his way out, only to be stopped by his mother's voice. "Oh, I almost forgot!" She made her way over to him and handed him some money. "Here's your allowance dear. Have fun at the fair."

Chrono nodded and left with a "Thanks mom!" He quickly made his way up to Leene's Square, a smile on his face as he saw the mass of bright balloons, tents, stalls and flowers everywhere, making the entire Square look bright and colorful. He stopped once he arrived to take it all in.

All around were masses of people enjoying the sights and sounds of the fair. Children ran around laughing, having fun. People were hawking their wares and inviting attendees to attractions loudly. There was all manner of food, from Guardian staples to delicacies from other lands. In all, it was everything he had expected and more.

He had stayed still so long he was almost trampled by a group of people in odd outfits running past, barely jumping back in time. "What the…?"

An old man standing nearby laughed. "Those are the racers, sonny. They've been running around the square in races for a while now. Best stay out of their way unless you were hoping to be stepped on."

Chrono blinked. "Uh, okay. Thanks for the information." As the old man waved him off he began to make his way into the fairgrounds, looking around. He decided his first goal was to find Lucca before anything else, so he asked around to see if anybody knew where she had set up.

It took a bit, but finally a girl he recognized, Marion, told him what he needed as she sat by the fountain, resting her feet. "Oh yeah, I heard about Lucca and her father putting together another crazy invention. I think they're at the back of the square, beyond the bell." After Chrono thanked her and began walking away he heard her mutter to herself. "I just hope it doesn't blow up again like the last one."

Chrono sighed, as that appeared to be a standard response of the populace of Truce to the inventions of the Ashtear family, something he didn't really consider all that fair. True, some of their machines could combust rather spectacularly, but Chrono had seen more than enough working fine to trust that his friend had a good idea of what she was doing.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice somebody rushing by, and he slammed into them with a smack before falling to the floor, a bit dazed, hearing whoever he hit fall as well with an 'Oof'.

Chrono sat up, looking to see who had run into him, only for his eyes to widen in shock and a small blush to appear on his cheeks. The girl who had just gotten up and was gazing back at him was gorgeous, with medium length blond hair in a high ponytail and a lovely face. She wore a white, sleeveless jumpsuit that showed off her body to great effect, with a gold belt and chain, golden bracelets, and brown sandals. On her back she had a quiver of bolts for a crossbow she had strapped to her side. Taking it all in, Chrono could not stop staring.

For her part the girl got up, rubbing her backside where she fell. "Ouch…" She supposed that was her fault. She'd only arrived at the fair a few minutes before and had been rushing around to see as much as she could, so she hadn't been paying attention as she should have. She looked to see who she had hit in order to apologize, finding a boy of about her age with spiky red hair held back by a white bandana, wearing a blue tunic and yellow pants with brown boots. She blushed slightly, realizing that he was quite handsome.

As the two stared at each other, Leene's Bell rang. That was enough to snap her out of her staring and she made her way over with a sheepish smile on her face. "I'm really sorry. I should have been looking where I was going. Are you okay?"

Chrono snapped out of his stupor and got to his feet. "Oh, yeah. I'm fine. I should have been looking where I was going as well, so it's alright."

She smiled in relief. "I'm glad to hear that." She brought her hand up to her neck before her face turned into surprise followed by fear. "Oh no." She looked down. "My pendant! It's gone!" She immediately began to frantically look for it.

Chrono frowned and gently rested his hand on her shoulder, trying not to think about how soft and silky her skin felt. "You lost a pendant?" At her nod he continued. "What does it look like? I'll help you find it."

She smiled gratefully. "Oh, thank you. It's a circular golden pendant with a blue jewel in the middle. It must have come off when I fell."

"Don't worry, we'll find it." He said, smiling reassuringly. Then he let her go and started looking around as well.

It took a few minutes, but Chrono finally found it under a bench near a candy vendor. He picked it up and presented it to its owner. "Is this it?"

The blond beauty beamed. "Yes, that's it. Thank you so much! I don't know what I would have done without it. It has a lot of sentimental value."

"You're welcome." He studied her. "You're not from around here, are you?"

She shook her head. "No, I came for the fair. You're from this town, right?" When he nodded she smiled. "Great! Maybe we could see the fair together then? Wandering around on your own is a bit boring."

"I'd like that. My name is Chrono, by the way."

"Oh! Right! My name is, uh… Marle!" She nodded decisively. "My name's Marle."

Chrono raised an eyebrow. "Alright Marle. Just give me a second first. I need to check on something." When she nodded he moved to a couple of men in the outfits of fair organizers blocking the way to the area he'd been told Lucca was. "Hey, is Lucca back there?"

One of them nodded. "Yes, but she's still making some last minute preparations, so I suggest you enjoy the rest of the fair and come back later."

"Okay. I'll be back then. Thanks." He quickly moved back to Marle. "Alright, where should we go first?"

Marle brought a finger to her lips. "Hmm… Let's go this way." She pointed east and looked up at Chrono, who nodded. She smiled before she began walking. "So what did you have to ask those men about?"

"Oh, my friend Lucca has an event she's setting up, and I promised I'd be there for it. Seems it isn't ready yet though, so we can do other stuff first." Chrono answered.

"Oh, okay. What is it?" Marle asked.

Chrono shrugged. "No idea. She wanted it to be a surprise. Knowing her though, it's bound to be interesting." He stopped near a drinking competition table. "Hang on one sec." He quickly moved away, causing Marle to follow him. He kneeled down in front of a crying little girl. "Hey there, cutie. What's the matter?"

The girl sniffled and looked up at him. "Mister Whiskers, my kitty, ran away, sir."

"That's terrible. Tell me what he looks like and, if I see him, I'll make sure to bring him back to you, okay?" Chrono said gently with a smile.

The girl gave a small hiccup and looked up at him. "Really?"

Chrono nodded. "Really really."

"Okay…" The girl said. "He's an orange kitty with a white patch on his forehead that looks kind of like a moon."

"Got it. I'll make sure to keep an eye out for him and I'll bring him back as soon as I see him."

The girl gave a tremulous smile. "Thanks mister."

Chrono gently patted her head before standing up and turning around and blinking when he found Marle staring at him with a smile. "Uh…"

Marle giggled. "That was very sweet, Chrono."

Chrono blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "It just seemed like the right thing to do." He resumed walking, Marle following behind still smiling, hearing odd music coming from up ahead.

"It was. Think we'll find her cat?" Marle asked.

"I hope so. She shouldn't have her fair experience ruined by something like that." Chrono said before they arrived at an area with a stage where people in primitive costumes were dancing, singing, and playing instruments disguised as other things. There were many people watching, and more than a few in front of the stage dancing along to the odd music.

"Wow." Marle said, eyes sparkling. "That's really catchy." She turned to Chrono with a grin. "C'mon, let's dance!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him along, drawing a surprised laugh from him.

They danced for a while, both having a lot of fun, before they decided they had enough about twenty minutes later and left the area, slightly sweaty and breathing heavily, but with big smiles on their faces.

"That was fun!" Marle chirped, taking a gulp of a drink she'd gotten.

Chrono nodded as he gulped down his own drink. "Yeah. We should explore the rest of the fair though. Let's go near the entrance and see what's around there."

"Sounds good. After you, my good sir." Marle said with a grin, and they both headed off.

They had a lot of fun for the next half hour, playing games, eating treats, and watching the racers. Chrono even won twenty Silver points by correctly guessing the winner.

It was as they were walking towards the large, purple tent with a scary entrance that Chrono spotted something he'd been looking for since he'd arrived at the fair. "Hey, give me a second, Marle. I want to buy something."

Marle cocked her head to the side and followed him to an old man with an array of bladed weapons surrounding him. The old man smiled at them as they approached. "Welcome! Melchior the Swordsmith, at your service! Can I interest you in one of my fine blades?"

Marle's eyes widened. "Melchior!? I've heard of you!" Chrono turned to look at her, and Melchior raised an eyebrow. Marle blushed slightly but continued. "You're said to be one of the best swordsmiths in the world. The only reason people like the Guardian royal family don't commission you more often than they do is because you live near Medina."

"Hohoho, well, I appreciate the compliment, young lady. I do indeed live near Medina. This is one of the few times I come here." Melchior smiled. "Of course, how could I miss an event that only occurs once every thousand years?" He turned to Chrono, who was eyeing his blades with more interest now. "See anything you might like, my boy?"

"Yeah. I've been wanting to buy a real sword for a while now. I've been saving up." He picked up a beautiful blade that shone silver. "How much for this one?"

"That's one of my fine silver swords. I'm quite proud of it. I doubt you have enough, however. That one costs 4000G." Melchior said.

Chrono's face fell and he set it back down. Marle bit her lip and spoke up. "Umm, I have some money to help cover that. Maybe I could…?"

Chrono held a hand up to stop her, though he was smiling gratefully. "I appreciate the thought, Marle, but I'm not going to take advantage of you by taking your money. I'll get something I can afford and be happy with it."

Melchior nodded agreeably. "You're a good lad. Tell me how much you have and we'll go from there."

"About 550G, after what I've spent so far today." Chrono said.

Melchior hummed lightly before picking up another sword. "This bronze blade, while not as good as the silver, is still of very high quality. I'll let it go for 350G, and I'll even throw in the sheathe for free. How does that sound?"

Chrono studied the sword. "Mind if I try it out really quickly?" When Melchior handed it to him he moved to an area free of people and started going through a basic kata at a decent speed. When he was done he nodded to himself. "I think this'll do nicely." He pulled out his money pouch and began to count out the money.

Melchior accepted his payment with a nod and handed Chrono the sheath. "It's nice to see that the blade is going to someone who knows how to use it. Pleasure doing business with you, my boy." The old swordsmith glanced at Marle and almost did a double take when he noticed her pendant. "By the way, my dear, would you be interested in selling me that pendant? It's quite fetching." He asked casually.

Marle grasped her pendant and shook her head. "Sorry, but it has a lot of sentimental value."

Melchior nodded. "I understand. Looking at it more closely, I can tell I don't have enough to buy it off of you without trying to cheat you. Keep it safe. That's a mighty valuable trinket you have."

Marle smiled and nodded. "I will, thank you." She turned to Chrono, who was finishing strapping his new sword to his side. "Ready, Chrono?"

He nodded and turned to Melchior. "Thanks again. I promise to take good care of it."

Melchior nodded affably. "It's no problem. If you're ever near Medina stop by and visit. Who knows, maybe by then you'll be able to afford the silver sword, or even one of my better pieces." Chrono waved back as he moved on with Marle.

As they approached the large purple tent that was their original destination they heard somebody calling out from the entrance. "Come one, come all, to the Tent of Horrors! Spend your Silver Points here! Put your bravery to the test!" The old woman smiled at them as they approached. "You look like a couple of brave young people. Come to try your luck?"

Marle smiled. "Yes! It sounds fun." She cocked her head to the side. "Um, what actually happens in the tent?"

"That would be telling, my dear. Though I will tell you that there are several prizes that you can win. Let me just check to see how many Silver Points you have, to know if you have enough for the games." She checked the notes with point amounts on them. "Well now, between the two of you, you have about fifty-three points. That should be enough. Go on in."

"Thank you, ma'am." Chrono said as Marle dragged him into the tent.

The inside of the tent was dark, and somehow looked like a dungeon with a large gate in the back, yellow eyes gleaming from the darkness beyond. An evil laugh rang out when they entered, making Marle jump slightly. "Welcome to Norstein Bekkler's Tent of Horrors! The spine tingling show is just about to start!"

The two turned to see who spoke, only to stare at what appeared to be a bodiless face painted up like a clown floating in the air, grinning at them. Two gloved hands were rubbing against each other in front of its nonexistent body. "W-wh-what?" Marle squeaked while Chrono simply stared.

Norstein Bekkler grinned wider, pleased at their reactions. "How many Silver Points would you young ones like to spend? Ten, forty, or eighty?"

Chrono was the first to get over his shock. "What are we spending points on?"

"Games, my dear fellow. If you do well enough on them, you can get great prizes. So, how much will it be?" Bekkler said, still smiling.

"I guess I'll choose forty." Chrono said, stepping forward and handing over the points. "What do I have to do?"

Bekkler grinned wider, taking the points, and snapped his fingers. The gate in the back opened, and out stepped… An identical duplicate of Chrono!?

The two youths stared once again in shock as the duplicate stood in front of Chrono, a blank smile on its face.

"Wow…" Marle breathed. "It looks just like you, Chrono."

Bekkler spoke before Chrono could respond. "The task is simple in concept, difficult in execution. You must simply imitate what your double does immediately after it does it. If you aren't quick enough, or do something wrong, you fail. Ready?" At Chrono's nod he snapped his fingers once again. "Begin!"

The duplicate responded by lifting its right arm into the air. Chrono quickly copied the motion, mirroring it. Then it put its arm down before throwing a right punch, which Chrono copied as well. This went on for almost thirty seconds, with the duplicate performing more and more complex actions, before Chrono finally made a mistake, trying to jump on one leg and landing badly, toppling over with a cry.

"Oooh, so close. You honestly only had two actions left before winning. Well, better luck next time." As Chrono picked himself up, grumbling, Bekkler turned to Marle. "Now then, would you like to try your luck, young lady?"

"Umm, sure. But I only have enough for the ten point game." Marle said, handing over the points.

"That's fine. You'll do admirably at the following game, I'm sure." The Chrono duplicate had gone back behind the gate, which had closed behind it, as Marle had stepped forward and Chrono moved back. Bekkler snapped his fingers again, prompting the gate to open again, letting out three identical looking men in old style armor. "These are Vicks, Wedge and Piette." The floating face said, pointing at each in turn. "The objective is, once again, simple in concept. You need to point out who I tell you to. Boys?" The men proceeded to quickly move about in a whirl as Marle stared, being careful not to close her eyes. They finally stopped after a few seconds, back in line. "Now then, which one is Piette?"

Marle was silent for a few moments before hesitantly pointing at the man in the middle. "I think… that's him?"

Bekkler turned to the man Marle was pointing at, who proceeded to nod. "Well done. You are correct, miss. You win a prize." Marle squealed and clapped her hands with a smile. "A special doll with a small secret will be sent to your home, where it will be waiting for you. It'll arrive shortly."

Marle suddenly didn't look as happy and glanced at Chrono nervously. "Um, okay. Do you need me to tell you where to send it, or should I write it down for you?"

Bekkler waved her off. "I already know where to send it, my dear. It'll be there soon, waiting for you."

Marle looked confused. "How do you know?"

Bekkler grinned. "I have my ways, child. Now why don't you go out and gather some more points before coming back to try your luck again?"

A bit weirded out Marle nodded. "Okay. Um, thanks for the games." She quickly left with Chrono in tow. Once they were back out in the sun and the old woman had waved them off she turned to Chrono. "He was a bit creepy, wasn't he?"

Chrono shrugged with a bit of a smile. "I think that was kind of the point. It was called the Tent of Horrors, after all."

Marle giggled slightly. "I guess you have a point. Alright, what next?"

"Well, I want to look for Gato. I just got a new weapon I want to test out." Chrono said.

Marle looked confused. "Gato?"

Chrono grinned. "You'll see. Come on, hopefully it's not too far away." Marle followed along, curious.

Before long they reached an area where they could hear a lot of cheering. Chrono grinned, sure this was what he was looking for. He and Marle made their way to the front of a cheering crowd and his grin widened while Marle's eyes went wide.

In the middle of a square arena a man in the uniform of a Guardian soldier wielding a broadsword stumbled away from a blow from a large machine. It was bipedal and rotund, with large metal fists and some sort of covered opening on its belly. Its head was shaped in a way that made it look like it had cat ears. In one hand it held a microphone.

"That's Gato." Chrono told a surprised Marle. "Lucca made him as a training tool a few years ago. She keeps upgrading him when she can, but he's not that tough."

"Wow." Marle said. "Your friend must be a genius to make something like that." She said, before wincing when a metal fist slammed into the soldier's gut. "Not that tough, huh?"

Chrono shrugged. "Maybe I'm just used to fighting it." He said as the soldier staggered before falling on his ass to jeers from the crowd.

Gato brought his microphone up to his mouth and began to sing. "You are so very weak; I am so strong; I punched your lights out; Now go run along." The crowd laughed as the soldier stumbled to his feet and moved away.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, who wants to try their luck next!" An event organizer shouted into his own microphone.

Chrono tightened his headband with a smirk. "Be right back, Marle."

Marle nodded. "Good luck."

The organizer noticed him come forward. "Looks like we've got another brave volunteer! Sure you're up for this, kid?"

Chrono cracked his neck, smirk still firmly on his face. "No problem. I'll show you how it's done."

The man who'd just gotten beaten sneered at Chrono from where he was sitting off to the side. "Cocky little punk, aren't you?"

Chrono just appeared amused and stepped in front of Gato. The machine registered his presence and brought its microphone up again. "They call me Gato; I have metal joints; If you can beat me up; You'll earn fifteen points." Then without warning it launched a solid right hook at Chrono's face.

Chrono dodged backwards easily and drew his new blade before landing a slash on the still extended arm in the same motion. Gato moved its arm in a sweep back, but Chrono leapt over it, bringing his sword down on the machine's head with a clang. He moved to the side immediately after landing, just in time to avoid the third fist that burst out of the contraption's belly on a spring. He immediately jumped forward and hit home a double slash on a shoulder, causing it to stagger back as it wound the spring loaded fist back into its belly.

The crowd cheered Chrono on as Gato tried to hit him with a one two combo, but he dodged each attack and even hit the extended limbs when he could. He ducked down when the machine tried another hit with its third fist and slashed at the automaton's legs. Then he jumped up in a rising slash which unbalanced his opponent. He followed it up with a final slash at its head, causing it to topple over with a crash. Chrono stepped back and maintained his stance, eyes hard and focused, as Gato lumbered to its feet.

Gato didn't move for a moment before bringing its microphone back up and beginning to sing again. "Oh, no, I have lost; And it seems you have won; Here are your fifteen points; Now wasn't that fun?" It then stuck out its belly fist, which had the point notes clutched in it. Chrono took them with a smile.

"Unbelievable, ladies and gentlemen! The young man has not only beaten Gato, but he's done so without even being scratched by his opponent! Clearly he's somebody to look out for!" The organizer shouted into his microphone as the crowd cheered. Chrono noticed that the guy who had sneered at him was now looking at him in shock.

Chrono began to make his way back to Marle when a large man in an officer's uniform stepped in his path. "That was quite impressive, young man."

Chrono smiled. "Thanks. I'm glad my training's been paying off."

The officer nodded. "It obviously has. I'm a member of the Royal Guard who is here to keep an eye out for any promising youths to potentially join us. Had you considered perhaps joining our ranks?"

Chrono's eyes were a bit wide. "Uh, yeah. It's actually one of the goals I've been training for."

The officer smiled. "Well then, I'll make sure to keep an eye out for you when we start recruiting again in a couple of months. In the meantime, keep up your training."

"I-I will sir, thanks!" Chrono said with a smile. He resumed making his way to Marle after the officer patted his shoulder and went back to the spot he was watching the matches from.

He found his companion a bit further into the crowd, though he didn't notice the nervous look she sent the Royal Guardsman before her face morphed into a smile. "That was amazing, Chrono! I didn't realize you were so good."

Chrono scratched the back of his head. "Thanks. I practice a lot."

Marle took his hand and tugged him away from the arena. "Come on, let's get away from the crowd and find something else to do." Chrono nodded amiably and followed along.

On their way away from the crowd they were passing a stall when Marle spotted something. "Uh oh, looks like that man is about to lose his lunch."

Chrono looked over, expecting to see someone about to be sick, only to find a man standing with his back to the stall, which had a boxed lunch on it. A cat was slowly approaching the food, obviously intent on stealing it. He and Marle quickly moved forward and Chrono swiftly gathered the cat in his arms, which made it yowl in displeasure. "You'd best be careful with your lunch, sir. This little one was about to take it from you."

The older man turned around to see the cat looking grumpy in Chrono's arms. "Oh, thank you young man. I would have definitely hated to lose my wife's wonderful cooking. I'll make sure to keep a better eye on it from now on."

The two nodded and moved away before looking at the cat. Marle was the first to notice it. "Say Chrono, look at its forehead." Chrono looked down to find a patch of white among the orange in the shape of a crescent moon. The two looked at each other and grinned.

A few minutes later they arrived back where they'd seen the girl to find her still there. She wasn't crying anymore, but she was sitting rather despondently with her chin on her knees. Chrono kneeled down and presented the cat to her. "I believe this little fella belongs to you?"

The girl looked up before her eyes went wide with surprised happiness. "Mr. Whiskers!" She quickly took the cat, which began to purr, from Chrono and beamed up at them. "Thank you so much!"

Chrono and Marle smiled down at the girl. "It's no problem." Marle said. "We were happy to help. Have fun with the rest of the fair."

The girl waved to them as they moved away. "Feels nice to do a good deed, doesn't it?" Chrono asked with a grin. Marle nodded happily in response.

As they walked by the bell Chrono noticed that the men who had been blocking the way to the area with Lucca's invention were gone. "Looks like Lucca is all set up. Shall we go?"

Marle nodded agreeably. "Okay, but let me get some candy first."

They stopped at a stand selling a wide variety of candy and Marle began to look through all of it. While she took her time Chrono found himself listening to the gossip of the woman running the stall. "Nothing like a good fair, is there dear? Say, have you heard the gossip?"

Chrono tried his best to be polite. "No ma'am."

"Well, just between us, I heard that the King is tearing his hair out over his tomboy of a daughter. Just once I'd like to meet her and see how wild she really is." The woman said with a small laugh. Chrono gave her a polite smile. Neither noticed the small frown on Marle's face.

"I think I'll take some of this." Marle said, picking up some lollipops.

"Excellent choice, dear. That'll be 2G." The woman said with a smile.

After paying for the treats Chrono and Marle continued to make their way to Lucca's area. As they approached they heard a man's loud voice ring out over the small crowd that had gathered. "Step right up, any with the time and courage! Our first ever hyperdimensional transporter is the invention of the century!" They reached the front of the crowd to find a large, burly man calling out from in front of two large, identical machines. Both were tall and round, each with a roof bristling with antennas and other machinery. The floor of each machine was made out of a blue, reflective surface, and each had a large array of machinery attached to one side. The man stepped in front of one of the machines. "Simply hop on here…" he said, before moving to the other machine. "And you'll be teleported here!" He grinned proudly as the crowd murmured to each other at his words. "This fantastic machine is the masterwork of my beautiful and brilliant daughter, Lucca!"

At his words Lucca stood up from where she had been checking on one of the machines and raised her hand in the air in a wave, a big grin on her face, as light applause rang out.

"Wow…" Marle breathed at Chrono's side, her eyes wide with awe. "A teleporter? That could… that could revolutionize everything if it works!"

Chrono crossed his arms and smiled proudly at his friend. "I told you. Lucca's brilliant. I guarantee she'd make anybody in the Royal Research and Development department look like a fool. She just isn't taken seriously because of her age."

"If this works, she definitely will be. I'll make sure of it." Marle whispered to herself.

"So, who wants to be the first to try it out!" Taban called out. The crowd looked amongst each other, looking nervous.

Chrono stepped forward, Marle moving as close as she dared in curiosity, and Taban caught sight of him. "Oh, Chrono!"

"Chrono!" Lucca cried happily. Then she became slightly stern. "I was wondering when you were going to show up." She became slightly anxious. "Nobody wants to try my telepod out."

Chrono smiled and gently patted her shoulder. "Relax, Lucca. I'm here, aren't I?" He spoke a bit louder so the crowd could hear him. "This'll make history, and I'll be part of it by being the first to go through it."

Lucca smiled gratefully. "Alright Chrono." She stepped aside. "Just stand in the middle of the telepod and let us do the rest, okay?" Chrono nodded and got in position.

Taban moved to the machinery on Chrono's pod. "System activated!"

Lucca moved to the other pod and began to work as well. "Initiating energy transfer!"

After a few moments, Chrono began to glow. As the crowd watched he seemed to break apart into a group of bright lights. The lights hovered for a moment, before swiftly moving, one by one, to the other pod. The lights then began to reform, eventually leaving a furiously blinking Chrono standing there, unharmed.

The crowd made various noises of amazement, gazing in awe. Marle was among them, her eyes wide and a grin on her face. "Wow…" She whispered softly.

Chrono slowly stepped forward off the pod, as though unsure, before finally standing confidently beside Lucca as the crowd applauded more vigorously this time.

"So…" Lucca grinned. "How was it? Want to try again?"

Marle rushed out of the crowd. "Chrono! That was amazing! Can I try it? Can I?"

Lucca blinked. "Huh?" She looked Marle over with slightly wide eyes and an unnoticeable blush on her face. She turned to Chrono. "What the hell, Chrono? When did you manage to pick up a cutie like her?" She whispered, slightly stunned. Chrono just grinned, scratching the back of his head.

Marle moved forward with a big smile. "It's alright, isn't it?"

Lucca nodded. "Sure, absolutely no problem from me."

Marle cheered eagerly. "Alright! Just wait right here, Chrono. Don't run off on me!"

Taban turned to the crowd and began to hype them up. "Behold, ladies and gentlemen, as this vision of loveliness steps aboard the machine!" Marle eagerly made her way to the pod Chrono was standing on originally. Taban whispered to her. "You're sure about this? There's still time to change your mind."

Marle shook her head. "No way! I'm not afraid." She stepped aboard the telepod and grinned at Chrono, who was watching with his arms crossed and a smile on his face.

Taban turned back to the crowd. "Okay, everyone, let's give her a great big hand when she teleports from the platform!" Then both he and Lucca began the process once again.

Marle was waiting eagerly for the teleport to happen when she noticed something weird. She looked down to see her pendant had started to glow oddly, especially the jewel. "Huh? What's going on? My pendant, it's…"

Suddenly a great burst of energy began to escape from the telepod's systems, arcing to impact the systems of the other pod. Taban and Lucca were forced to scramble back. "What the!?" Lucca shouted.

Chrono's arms uncrossed and he took a step forward as he stared at Marle, who had begun to glow. She looked back at him, her face showing surprise and a bit of fear.

Between the two pods, a tear in space appeared. Swirling eddies of color could be seen in it. The crowd gasped in shock as Chrono, Lucca and Taban stared.

Then, much like when Chrono had tried the teleporter out before, Marle broke apart into a mass of bright lights, only leaving behind her pendant on the floor of the pod. Rather than travel to the other pod, however, they shot into the tear, where they then reformed into a dazed looking Marle. She looked back at Chrono, fear on her face, before the tear closed, taking her away.

After a few moments of stunned silence, Taban scrambled over to where the tear had been, looking for any sign of the girl. He turned to his daughter. "Lucca… She's not reappearing." Then he seemed to remember the crowd as he made his way forward and began to shout. "W-well, all right! As you can see, the girl has vanished before your very eyes! Show's over, folks! Move along!" The crowd began to disperse muttering to each other. Once they were all gone Taban turned to his daughter. "Lucca, what happened. Where did she go?"

Lucca got up from where she had been sitting on the floor in shock, thinking deeply. "It couldn't have been the telepod. Not with the way she disappeared… The way that rift appeared… And the way her pendant reacted… Something else must have caused it all."

Taban paced. "Well what are we supposed to do? Is there any way we can help her?"

"I… don't know." Lucca's brow was furrowed as she thought. "Now that I take the time to really think about it, her face looked really familiar… I know I've seen her somewhere…"

While Lucca thought and Taban paced, Chrono simply stared at the space where Marle had vanished. His mind was whirling, trying to understand what had happened. He didn't know what was going on, and he'd leave that for Lucca to figure out, but what he did know is that Marle had looked terrified when she disappeared. He had no idea where she'd gone, and no clue what she could be going through right now. And there was no way to follow her.

His gaze went to the pod she'd been standing in and his eyes landed on the pendant that seemed to have cause everything.

Or was there?

Chrono silently moved to the pod and picked up the pendant, gazing at it, before looking back at his best friend. "Lucca."

Lucca looked back at him, then to the pendant in his hand, before her eyes widened. "Chrono!"

Taban turned as well. "Oh, you're going after her?" He grinned proudly. "What a fine lad."

Lucca bit her lip, before she nodded slowly. "It's the only way. I don't know where that hole leads, but we've got no other choice."

Taban pointed something out though. "We don't know if it'll open again though."

Lucca shook her head. "True, but it's very probable. That pendant seems to be the key. If he holds it, the same thing should happen." She turned to Chrono. "Keep a tight hold on it, and brace yourself."

Chrono nodded. "You've got it, Lucca." He adjusted his belt, making sure his new katana was secure.

Lucca and her father quickly began to work, trying to replicate what they were doing to the telepod when the tear opened. Soon enough, the same thing began to happen, but this time Lucca didn't move away from the machinery despite the dangerous energy hitting it, her gaze set in a mask of determination.

Chrono took a deep breath as his body once again began to break up into lights. The lights then, just as before, moved into the tear which had suddenly appeared between the two pods, and Chrono began to reform. The last thing Chrono heard before the hole closed was Lucca shouting after him.

"Good luck, Chrono! I'll follow you as soon as I figure out what went wrong!" She yelled. Chrono was unable to respond.

He felt like he was flying, a howling wind blowing past him, stinging his eyes and ruffling his hair. He kept the pendant firmly in his grasp and his gaze was narrowed as he readied himself for anything.

After what seemed like minutes but was probably only seconds, he saw another opening before him. He prepared himself as he fell out of it onto soft green grass. He rolled along the ground for a bit before coming to a stop. He groaned as he got up, just in time to see the tear in space disappear. He frowned but wasn't surprised. Of course it wouldn't be so easy as finding Marle and jumping back into the hole. He could only hope that Lucca found a way through to help.

He sighed before putting the pendant away in his pocket so he could give it back to Marle. He looked around, finding himself in a small canyon covered in trees and vegetation. He looked around for any trace of the girl but, finding none, decided to see if he could make his way to civilization.

He'd only taken a few steps, however, before he realized he was being watched. The trees rustled as small forms shifted, eyes gazing at him malevolently. Chrono slowly drew his sword, and as soon as he'd taken his stance, they attacked.

* * *

 ** _Welcome to the second chapter of my Chrono Trigger novelization. I hope it entertained._**

 ** _I didn't really expect this chapter to be so long. It was only supposed to cover the fair, but that was more than I had envisioned. I wanted to go into everything I thought was relevant to future events and character development. So it grew._**

 ** _Please let me know what you thought. I eagerly await reviews, though I know the Chrono Trigger section isn't very trafficked nowadays. I'm still hopeful though._**

 ** _Some of the dialogue was taken from the DS version of Chrono Trigger. I'm playing it as I write to remind myself of what happened, and sometimes what they wrote works better than what I come up with. I try to limit it though. I do want this to be my thing._**

 ** _I think that's all I have to say. Till next time._**


	3. This Is A Ren Faire, Right?

Chrono performed a dodge roll as a small form launched itself at him from the branches of the trees. He turned to find, to his surprise, a small fiend. An Imp, to be precise. It glared up at him, beady little eyes focused on him from a blue skinned face in a large skull.

"What the…? Why are you attacking me?" Could he be near Medina, he wondered.

"What kind of stupid question is that?" The fiend asked bitingly. "We're at war, why wouldn't we attack you? Stupid human." There was laughing from around Chrono, other imps sneering at him malevolently.

Chrono blinked. At war? The last war with the fiends was four hundred years previous. He settled himself into a ready stance again. These must be a militant group who'd decided to resume their violent ways. He'd heard there were those out there. He must have ended up near their territory.

His hands on his sword tightened. If these imps were willing to attack him, they likely would have done the same to Marle. He needed to make sure she was okay. For that, he'd first need to deal with his opponents.

The imps apparently had enough of waiting, as another launched itself at him, claws extended as it tried to rip into Chrono. Instinctively the young man moved to the side and held his blade out, letting the diminutive creature land on the edge, nearly bisecting it.

Chrono froze. That was the first time he'd killed somebody. It didn't matter that they weren't human, they were still living, thinking beings. He was shaken out of his musings as another imp came at him, shrieking angrily at its comrade's death. Chrono moved back and was about to swing his blade at his attacker when a large stone was thrown at him by another assailant, almost hitting him in the head, he just barely tilted his head out of the way, but his distraction let the one he'd been about to attack scratch his leg, drawing blood.

Without thinking Chrono retaliated, bringing his sword down on the imp's skull, splitting it open. He almost gagged at the splash of blood and brain matter that escaped, but he managed to keep his focus enough to dodge another rock. He rushed forward and slashed at the rock thrower, splitting it open and ending the fight.

Chrono moved back. Now that the fight was over the enormity of what had just happened truly sank in. He rushed over to a bush and emptied his stomach before leaning against a tree.

He stayed like that for about five minutes before getting a hold of himself. They'd attacked him first, he told himself. He was only protecting himself. He shook his head. Besides which, he needed to hurry and find Marle.

He looked around before choosing a direction, ready to leave, hoping to find the blonde to make sure she was safe. Hopefully then they could find some shelter till Lucca found a way to get them back.

* * *

It was slightly after noon when Chrono made his way into the town near the canyon he had found himself in. He'd spotted the town through a break in the trees after about fifteen minutes of walking and immediately made his way there to see if they'd seen Marle.

That didn't mean he'd had an easy time of it, though. He'd had to fight fiends several more times, though he thankfully hadn't received any further wounds, his skills sufficient that he could handle them relatively well now that he was expecting trouble.

He walked through town, looking around curiously. The houses were built in an older style that hadn't been used in a long time, though he'd seen them in drawings. Same went for the people, who were all dressed in fashion that was centuries out of date. He felt his stomach sink slightly, wondering where the hell he'd ended up. He'd never heard of any place like this before.

After a few minutes of wandering he spotted what appeared to be an inn. Knowing that his best chance at getting information was going to wherever alcohol was served, he made his way inside, thanking his luck that he still had some money on him. Though with the way his luck had been going, it wouldn't surprise him if wherever he was wouldn't accept the currency he carried.

He walked into the sounds of people laughing and drinking, apparently in relatively good cheer over something. Chrono stopped by a man dressed in armor he'd last seen on Norstein Bekkler's team of triplets standing near the pretty woman taking care of the 'Inn' portion of the business, apparently trying to work up the courage to speak to her. "Excuse me, I don't suppose you could tell me where I am, could you?"

The man looked at Chrono like he was complete moron. "Where are you, you say? You some sort of simpleton? Even a half-wit should know this land for Guardia!"

Chrono felt his stomach sink even lower as the man gave him a small glare. Guardia? This couldn't be Guardia. He'd just been there! Could this be another town elsewhere in the kingdom? But where?

The soldier continued speaking, annoyed. "Our kingdom wages war with the Fiendlord's army day and night, fighting to restore the realm's peace. Pray tell you know that much, at least!"

"O-of course." Chrono said to avoid further trouble, his mind reeling. War? The Fiendlord? What the hell was going on!?

He didn't hear whatever else the irritated soldier said, walking away towards the bar as he thought. He quickly decided not to ask any further questions in order to avoid drawing more attention to himself.

As he took a seat at on a stool by the bar he heard people talking, some people discussing someone being found and most likely resting at the castle, while others talked about the fact that the bridge to the southern continent had been razed by the enemy army, cutting off their access.

"What'll it be?" The barman asked eyeing Chrono.

Chrono normally wasn't a big drinker, despite being of age for it, but right now he felt that it definitely couldn't hurt. "An ale, please." He said, setting a coin down, which was quickly scooped up, much to his relief.

As he took a sip of the ale somebody sat down next to him. Unlike most of the people besides Chrono, who were dressed in simple, sturdy clothing, this man wore what was obviously travelling wear, an orange vest over a long sleeved white shirt, green trousers, brown boots, and a green and white striped scarf with a headband of similar colors holding his brown hair back.

The man turned to look at Chrono, giving him a once over. "You an outsider too?" Chrono glanced at him and nodded. "Well, the name's Toma. I'm an explorer. And if you can spare some coin to buy this round, I'll be a storyteller too."

Chrono considered it. On the one hand, he needed information, badly. What little he'd gotten already had spooked him more than a bit. On the other, there was no guarantee that Toma's information would be of any use to him.

In the end he reached into his pouch and pulled out some more coins, making Toma smile. "Great!" He turned to the barman. "A mug!" When his drink had been delivered he turned back to Chrono. "Cheers, friend." He took a deep gulp of his drink before sighing in satisfaction. "Well then, a promise is a promise. It's about the missing Queen." Chrono's eyebrow went up. A queen was missing? He kept his surprise to himself, unwilling to mark himself as strange for not knowing current events of... wherever he was.

"My travels have taken me to the cathedral in the western wood, and there's something most peculiar about that place. It's only a hunch, but-" Toma was suddenly interrupted by another patron of the bar.

"Oi Toma, you're dead wrong. They found the Queen." The man said, grinning. "She was in the canyon, for some reason. She's been taken back to the castle already."

Toma looked surprised. "They found the Queen!? In the canyon?" He took a sip of his drink thoughtfully. "Huh. Well then, I guess my suspicions were misplaced." He looked at Chrono. "Thanks for the drink anyway, my friend. I never got your name, by the way."

"Chrono." Said youth said, a bit distracted. This Queen had been found in the canyon. The canyon the rip in space was in. There was no way that was coincidence. She might know something about Marle. "I've… got to go." He said, getting up.

Toma raised his mug. "See you around then, Chrono. Maybe we can have a drink again sometime soon."

"Yeah… maybe…" He gave the man a slightly strained smile before leaving.

Outside the inn he stopped, considering his next move. There wasn't much to think about, though. He turned to the castle he could see from his position.

Hopefully now he could get some answers.

* * *

Some time later he arrived at the gates of the castle, more spooked than before. He'd never been to Guardia Castle before, but from what he could tell, this was almost identical to the one he was familiar with. He already had some nasty theories about where he was, though he hoped he was wrong. The only way he'd be sure was if Lucca confirmed it, though.

The large doors to the castle were open, letting Chrono walk in. He doubted it would be that easy, however. And he was right.

"Halt! Who goes there?" A guard said, approaching him with his partner. He looked Chrono over, looking slightly incredulous. "I've not seen your face before. And those outlandish clothes! Wouldn't be one of the Fiendlord's agents, would we?"

Chrono opened his mouth to protest his innocence when the other guard spoke up, sneering. "Ha! Fat chance. Look at him! The boy's not built to lift a sword, let alone serve in the Fiendlord's army."

Now Chrono was getting irritated. He'd not even said anything and these two were blatantly insulting him to his face. Hell, he was probably in better shape than they were!

"Heh, suppose you're right." The first said. He turned to Chrono and waved his hand at him dismissively. "Now run along, boy, before we're forced to lock you up in the towers!"

Chrono clenched his jaw before opening his mouth to speak, only to be interrupted once again, this time by a woman's voice. "Stop that at once!"

He looked up the stairway to see a beautiful blond woman in an elaborate green dress walking closer at the top of the stairs. She glared down at the guards who had been insulted Chrono, oddly familiar green eyes narrowed.

"Queen Leene!" The guards cried as they dropped to a knee. Chrono realized he should probably do the same before royalty and dropped as well.

The queen walked down a couple of steps to look at the guards imperiously. "That man is my friend, and you will treat him as such."

The first guard looked up at her. "But, Your Majesty, there's something strange about him."

The queen fixed the guard with an absolutely chilling glare. "You refuse to obey my orders?"

The guard quickly ducked his head back down. "Of course not!"

The guards were so cowed they did not notice the queen raise a gloved hand to hide a giggle, though Chrono saw it clearly. She then gave the redhead a warm look. "Please come up to my chambers. I wish to speak with you privately." At Chrono's nod she turned around and made her way back into the castle.

The guards shakily got back to their feet, eyeing Chrono warily now as he got up as well. Sure that there would be no more attempts to stop his advance, he made his way up the stairs after the queen.

He entered the throne room to find who could only be the king and somebody else, most likely an advisor.

The king was a man in his late twenties, though his face was lined by stress, most likely due to the ongoing war. In spite of that, he sat proudly upon his throne and turned to gaze at Chrono as he entered. "I am to understand you played some role in returning my lady wife to me. For that I owe you a debt of gratitude."

Chrono made sure to bow deeply, wary of making any mistake in etiquette. "I was happy to help, Your Highness. No debt is owed."

The king smiled at him. "Quite honorable of you. I still think I must repay you in some way, but that can be discussed later. I must ask, however, do you know what befell her while she was away? She has been acting rather oddly since her return. And she appears to have lost the coral hairpin she always wore. She treasured that thing so." Then he shook his head. "Forgive me, you must be tired. I understand my Queen desired to speak with you privately. After you have done so, feel free to rest in the knight's quarters. I will speak to the commander."

Chrono bowed again. "My thanks, Your Highness." He moved towards where a maid was waiting to guide him to the queen's quarters, noting as he went that the advisor, a short man with an enormous beard, was watching him closely.

The maid left him with a knight guard when they reached the floor the queen's quarters were on. The knight gazed at Chrono with suspicion before grunting and stepping aside. "Her Majesty awaits you."

Chrono made his way into the queen's room to find her by the window as a couple of attendants were putting things away. She turned to Chrono when she saw him enter. "Ah, you're here." She looked from one attendant to the other. "Please leave us. I wish to speak to this man privately."

"Yes, Your Majesty." The attendants bowed and left, eyeing Chrono as they passed.

Once they closed the door behind them the Queen turned back to the window. "Please, step closer. No need to be shy." Chrono hesitantly did so, only to hear the queen giggle and turn to him with a large smile. A very familiar smile. "Heehee. Fooled you, didn't I, Chrono?"

Chrono blinked. "Marle?"

"Yep!" She said happily. "But everybody here calls me Leene, for some reason."

Chrono stared, wondering how he didn't recognize her immediately. Then he realized she was wearing heavier make up, and had her hair done up differently. That plus the dress changed her just enough that he couldn't tell at first glance.

Marle looked to the side and took a couple of steps away from Chrono. "I'm really glad you came…" She said before looking at him with a gentle smile. "When I found myself suddenly in that canyon, with no idea what happened, somehow, I just knew, that you'd come for me, even though we only knew each other for that short time at the fair." She stepped back closer to Chrono. "…Thank you, Chrono."

Chrono smiled back. "Of course, Marle."

Suddenly, something changed. Neither knew what it was, but the feeling in the air was different, and even the light streaming through the windows seemed off.

Marle looked around, a bit worried. "What's happening?" Suddenly she jerked as though struck. "W-what?"

Chrono took a step toward her, concerned. "Marle?"

Marle wrapped her arms around her middle, hunching over and whimpering. "I feel… I feel like I'm being torn apart!" She looked up at Chrono, tears of fear in her eyes. "Help me, Chrono! I'm scared! It's feels like… I'm dying! Help me!" She reached out for him, and he reached back, more than a bit alarmed. "Hel-!" No more sound escaped her as her form began to fade. A panicked Chrono tried to grab her, but his arms went through her like she wasn't there.

She gave him one last, terrified look, and then, suddenly, she was gone.

Chrono stared at the place the girl had been standing, shocked beyond belief, as the atmosphere in the room went back to normal.

What in all the hells just happened!?

* * *

 ** _So, not much happened in this chapter, I know. It's short, too. But it's just a transitory chapter, setting up the queen's rescue, which will be longer and come in the next chapter._**

 ** _Part of what I wanted to do with this chapter is show that Chrono does have a brain. In the game it's necessary for others to explain even the basics because Chrono is a silent protagonist, but that made him seem stupid. He should have been able to tell what was going on by the time he reached Marle, no matter how insane. Here he does, but keeps it in the back of his mind till he can have Lucca, who he trusts more on such things, confirm it._**

 ** _Another thing about the limitations of the game being, well, a game, is that when the first proper battle in the game happens there's no reaction from Chrono over his first kill. Here he dealt with it somewhat appropriately, focusing on the matter at hand._**

 ** _For those interested, I've added another story to my collection. It's a Xander centric Buffy story, if anybody is interested. Please give it a look and a review if you are._**

 ** _That's it for this time. Please review. Till next time._**


	4. Royal Rescue

Chrono stood, staring at the place Marle had been standing. One minute she had been fine, giggling and smiling, the next she was crying out in pain and fading away like a ghost. It didn't make sense!

He slowly left the room, closing the doors behind him. Seeing the maids standing near the guard, gossiping, he almost panicked. He forced himself to calm down and act like nothing had happened, however, and began walking towards them.

One of the maids looked at him, surprised. "The Queen dismissed you already?" She got a glint in her eye. "You didn't do anything untoward, did you?" She asked accusingly.

Chrono bristled. "Of course not!" He took a breath. "The Queen asked not to be disturbed. She said she needed a nap after the excitement of the day."

The second maid blinked but nodded. "Understandable. We'll leave the queen be till dinnertime."

Chrono nodded back and began making his way back down the stairs, being careful not to burst into a run like he dearly wanted to. He somehow doubted they'd be inclined to believe he had nothing to do with Marle's disappearance, and he had no intention of seeing the castle dungeons firsthand.

His mind was racing as he reached the bottom of the stairs, trying to figure out what to do now. He needed to find out what caused Marle to disappear and fix it somehow. He was broken out of those thoughts by hearing his name called out. "Chrono!"

He looked up to find Lucca rushing to him. "Lucca!" He practically cried with relief.

She stopped in front of him, bending over with her hands on her knees as she panted from exertion. "Huff… huff… Whew, you're okay. Did you find the girl?"

Chrono nodded. "I did, but she kinda… disappeared."

Lucca straightened back up, her eyes wide. "She WHAT!? Disappeared!?"

"She was perfectly fine one moment, laughing about how everybody had confused her with the Queen, then the next she said she felt like she was being ripped apart before she just… vanished, right in front of me. My arms went right through her body when I tried to grab her."

Lucca turned her head to the side, hand holding her chin as she thought. "Hmm… It's just as I thought, then…"

Chrono took a step forward. "Lucca, what's going on?"

She looked up at her best friend. "I knew I recognized her from somewhere, Chrono." She looked around at the castle. "We seem to be in Guardia, but it's a lot older than the Guardia we know."

"I've heard people discussing an ongoing war with the Fiendlord's army." Chronos said seriously. "We're in the past, aren't we? During the great war with the fiends."

Lucca smiled softly. "You always were smarter than you let on… It's worse than that, though. They must have mistaken your new girlfriend for her ancestor." She looked at Chrono in the eye. "That girl you were showing around the fair was actually Princess Nadia, Chrono."

Chrono stared, unable to believe what he was hearing. "A-are you sure?"

Lucca nodded. "I double checked before I chased after you. There aren't many pictures, she's kinda sheltered, but it was definitely her." She sighed. "It also explained why she disappeared."

Chrono's hands fisted at his sides. "What do you mean, Lucca?"

"Marle, that is, Princess Nadia, is a descendant of Queen Leene." She began. "Queen Leene was kidnapped, and someone was supposed to have gone and saved her." She sighed in frustration. "But now history's been changed!"

Chrono then understood. "They confused Marle with Queen Leene, so they called the search off. That means that the Queen isn't rescued. And since she hasn't had a child yet, if she dies…"

Lucca smiled grimly. "Then Nadia was never born, because none of her ancestors were either." Then she looked back at Chrono. "But there might still be enough time. If we can save the Queen, history as we know it should remain unchanged!"

Chrono's eyes hardened. "Then we need to find her. Now." He walked passed Lucca, heading to the castle entrance, his steps determined.

Lucca followed along behind him, a light blush on her cheeks. It was hardly the appropriate time for it, but the sight of a strong and determined Chrono made a pleasant shiver run along her spine. She shook that thought off and focused on the matter at hand, however. "The problem is that we don't know where she is."

Chrono paused as they left the castle, thinking, before a small smirk appeared on his face. "I might have an idea…"

* * *

"Manolia Cathedral." Lucca read the sign on the wall of the building in front of her. "How did you know about this place, Chrono? I don't remember it existing in our own time."

"A drinking buddy told me." Chrono said. He turned his head to look at her. "Shall we?" At her nod he pushed the doors open.

The inside of the cathedral was lit by candles, the high ceiling hidden in shadow. From what they could see, it appeared to be an ordinary place of worship. An altar was at the back, an organ in the corner. Nuns occupied several pews, heads bowed in prayer.

Chrono walked forward slowly, eyes darting around, searching for anything out of place, including the occupants. They appeared to be normal nuns, their habits covering the entirety of their bodies, their hands hidden by their sleeves.

"I don't see anywhere that the Queen could be kept." Lucca murmured quietly, hand on her weapon, a gun she'd made whose bullets were propelled by compressed air.

Chrono made his way to the nun at the organ. "Excuse me."

The nun turned to gaze at him. "Yes, young man? How may I assist you?"

"We are searching for information on the missing Queen. May I ask if you have seen her recently, and if so, if there was anything odd about her?" Lucca asked.

The nun shook her head. "I'm sorry, but it has been some weeks since the Queen was here, so I'm afraid I know nothing of use." She smiled softly. "Why don't you say a prayer requesting guidance while you're here? It might help."

Chrono nodded slowly. "Thank you, ma'am." He slowly walked back in front of the altar with Lucca, who was eyeing him.

"What is it, Chrono?"

"Something's nagging at me…" He stopped when he saw something glinting on the deep red carpet. "Hello…" He knelt down to pick it up as Lucca watched.

"What is it?" She asked.

"It's a… hairpin. Seems to be made of…" His eyes widened. "Coral."

"Coral?" Lucca took it from him, bringing a small magnifying lens from the side of her helmet to hand in front of her right eye. "This symbol…" She gasped. "Chrono, this is Guardia's royal crest!"

Before he could respond, the four nuns in the room rose from where they knelt and moved smoothly and sinuously to surround the two. Chrono and Lucca quickly positioned themselves back to back, drawing their weapons as the nuns removed their habits, revealing themselves to be snake women, their lower bodies being the tails of pink and blue snakes, with clawed hands, fanged mouths, long, pointed ears, pink hair and yellowish skin. The only clothing they wore were armored bras that hid their breasts from view.

The women, nagas, Chrono remembered, hissed at the two as they advanced, intending to tear them to pieces. One of them, the one Chrono had spoken to, leered at him unpleasantly. "You should have left when you had the chance, children. Now you will serve as new rations for this garrison."

Sweat began to bead Lucca's forehead. This was the first time she'd be in a life or death battle. Sure, she'd trained against Gato a few times, because it was a good idea for an attractive girl to know how to defend herself, but that wasn't nearly the same. She began to shake slightly in fear till Chrono spoke softly. "Relax, Lucca. You know I won't let anything happen to you." His voice was strong, confident, and it soothed her nerves, her shaking subsiding as she gripped her gun tighter.

The nagas laughed. "Don't make promises you can't keep." One hissed before launching herself at Chrono, moving swiftly, claws ready to rend his flesh.

Chrono quickly dodged the first strike, retaliating with a sword slash. The naga hissed as she moved back, a cut appearing on her shoulder, managing to avoid most of the damage.

Another attacked Lucca, who yelped and quickly aimed at the snake woman, pulling the trigger and launching a bullet that impacted against her chest. The naga staggered back, screeching, and Lucca stared at the wound, which was oozing bright red blood. She'd never purposefully injured somebody before, and what she'd done momentarily paralyzed her. Unfortunately, this was a mistake, as another naga, angered by the attack on her compatriot, threw herself at the momentarily defenseless Lucca.

Chrono, seeing this from where he was holding the other two nagas off, jumped backwards and pushed Lucca to the ground as he whirled around, slashing at the surprised attacker and cutting deeply into her breast. The fiend screamed, bright blood blossoming and splashing onto the ground, and with a focused look on his face he pressed the attack, stabbing forward and piercing the heart of the naga, who instantly fell silent and dropped to the ground.

The other three snake women shrieked and moved to attack. Lucca, laying on her back, aimed up and began firing, peppering the assailants with bullet wounds, which gave Chrono enough time to whirl around and join the fight.

One of Lucca's targets was screeching, holding her arms up in an effort to protect herself from the bullets. Her distraction let Chrono take her out, a quick slash removing her head from her shoulders. The naga that was taking the brunt of the gunfire fell to the ground beside the altar, her wounds apparently too much for her.

That left one left to deal with. She screeched angrily, staring from the approaching Chrono to the slowly rising Lucca. She backed away, claws at the ready. "You filthy humans! You won't leave this place alive. I'll make sure of it!" She suddenly pointed at Chrono. "Nagamour!" A pink glow surrounded Chrono, who's movements slowed till he was only going a quarter of his usual speed.

Lucca bit her lip, cursing herself for forgetting that fiends could use magic. As the Naga darted forward, screeching triumphantly and ready to rip Chrono's face off, Lucca stepped forward and took careful aim. Just as the snake woman's claws were about to gouge into Chrono, who was only now moving to defend, she pulled the trigger. The bullet struck true, slamming into the fiend's right eye and blowing a hole in the back of her head in a burst of gore. She instantly dropped, and the pink glow dissipated from around Chrono, who stepped back, eyes wide in shock.

The sudden silence in the cathedral was deafening. Lucca looked at Chrono, pale and shaky now that the battle was over. "Y-you ok-okay?" She asked.

Chrono took a deep breath before nodding. "Yeah." He looked at her with concern. "What about you?"

Lucca leaned against the altar, trying to keep from hyperventilating. "I'm… I don't know…" She looked at Chrono as she fought the urge to throw up. The once pristine carpet was now covered in blood, and it was taking all her self-control to keep from breaking down.

Chrono looked at her gently. "Lucca…" He took a step towards her before his eyes widened.

Lucca had a brief moment to wonder what had caused the surprise when she heard the screech of a naga behind her. She whirled around to find a hole ridden naga pouncing up from where she'd been playing dead, claws raised as she readied to kill Lucca. Knowing that Chrono wouldn't reach her in time, nor having enough time and space to bring her own weapon to bear, Lucca closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable pain.

Instead she heard the sound of steel slicing into flesh, the shriek of a dying snake woman, and two thuds, one heavier than the other. She opened her eyes to find out why she wasn't dead.

The naga lay on the floor, cut nearly in half from shoulder to waist. Behind where the fiend had been standing was an odd being.

It was an anthropomorphic frog standing between four and five feet tall, with green, mottled skin and large eyes. It wore armor with a green cape over white britches, with bluish gloves and boots. In its hands it held a broadsword, which dripped with the naga's blood.

It looked at Lucca, giving a croak, before speaking. "Lower your guard, and you let the enemy in." It flicked the blood of its blade before sheathing it, looking from Chrono to Lucca. "You have come to save the Queen? The fiends' lair lies within, and you appear to be quite skilled. Will you accompany me?"

Still in shock over her near death, Lucca backed away from the frog. "You… You're a…" Chrono winced and tried to shush her, but she didn't seem to notice, turning to him slightly hysterically. "Chrono, it's a giant talking frog! You… you know I can't stand frogs!"

The frog man (Chrono was pretty sure it was a man, as the voice sounded male) closed his eyes and turned his head away slightly. "I suppose I ought not expect you to trust me, looking as I do." He turned away from them. "Very well. Do as you please. But I must save the Queen."

Chrono looked at Lucca as the frog began to leave. "Lucca, you know that was uncalled for. He saved your life." He hissed, looking disappointed, which made Lucca wince guiltily.

"W-wait!" Lucca called out as the being was halfway to the door. She stepped forward as he stopped and turned to her. "You… you don't seem like a bad frog. I mean, person. I mean… umm…" Chrono facepalmed and sighed as she turned to look at him. "W-what should we do, Chrono?"

"He's here to save the Queen." Chrono said. "Seeing as we're here for the same thing, working together is probably our best shot."

Lucca nodded slowly. "Right. I guess I'll just have to get over my… my aversion to slimy- err, moist-skinned, creatures." She scratched the back of her head. "So… what's your name?"

Their new companion gazed at Lucca for a few seconds before a small smile appeared on his face. "Frog will suffice."

Lucca took a breath. "Alright… Nice… Nice to meet you, Frog. I'm Lucca. And this is Chrono." Chrono nodded with a smile of his own.

Frog croaked. "A pleasure. Now, we must search this room. It must conceal a hidden passage somewhere."

The three promptly began searching the cathedral for anything that might lead deeper into the lair, but there wasn't much to see beyond the altar, the pews and the organ. As Frog checked the pews and Lucca the altar, Chrono moved to the organ. He looked around for some sort of switch or button that might reveal the way forward. After several minutes without finding anything he started hitting the keys as he thought. Each key moved smoothly when he pressed them, letting out rich notes from the pipes. He was surprised, however, when one of the keys fought him, being much tougher to press down on than the others. When it was all the way down he felt a click and he paused, wondering if he'd found the mechanism for the door.

However, when nothing happened he released the key. Still, he thought he'd come upon a clue, and checked the rest of the keys to find any others that were similar, finding three more by the time Lucca and Frog wandered over. Lucca had her hands on her hips, a frown on her face. "What are you doing, playing around on the organ while we've been searching?"

Chrono put a finger to his lips and winked before reached down and pressing down on the trick keys at the same time. As the notes blasted out of the pipes, there was a rumble from the other side of the cathedral, where the bricks on a wall were moving, revealing a doorway.

Lucca blinked, surprised, as Chrono smiled in satisfaction. "That's what I was doing. I think I found the way forward."

Frog gave a croak. "Well done, lad. Come, let us search this lair for any hint of the Queen."

The three entered the fiend lair, careful in case of an ambush. Chrono looked around a corner, seeing a couple of diablos, vaguely avian bipedal fiends with stonelike skin, patrolling the hallway they were in. Directly in front of Chrono was a door, and once he was sure the gargoyles weren't looking he darted across to it, opening it and slipping through, Frog and Lucca quickly following.

They now found themselves in a much larger area with multiple floors. Chrono, still leading the way, decided to head to the second floor, going up the stairs in front of where they'd come in. However, they were quickly attacked by two vipers that had been waiting at the top. The human sized, purple and yellow snakes hissed threateningly as they swiftly advanced, eager to sink their fangs into the intruders.

Frog charged at one, drawing his sword from its sheath and dodging the snake's lunge with a leap that carried him over the fiend's head, quickly positioning himself so that his blade fell onto the snake's head. It quickly fell over, dead.

Chrono drew his sword, preparing himself to defend himself against the viper that was slithering towards him. The snake darted forward, mouth wide open to take a bite out of Chrono. Its advance was stopped, however, when Lucca fired a round into its side. It hissed angrily, turning towards her, but that was a fatal mistake, as Chrono quickly moved forward and swung down, easily removing the viper's head.

Once done they continued upwards, entering the first door they found. Inside the room were a naga, a diablo, and a rather round, yellow skinned, armored fiend with small tusks colloquially called an underling. No one knew the actual name of the species anymore, as even the fiends themselves used that appellation.

They were a having a meal, a spread of various meats that the three invaders didn't want to think about on the table. Swallowing a last bite the diablo let out a belch before turning to them. "Hmm? What's with the disguises? Hurry up and change! No need to be walking around like humans in here."

Chrono quickly spoke, trying to think of how to avoid a fight. "We're heading out soon, so it's best if we stick to how we look now."

The diablo looked at him before shrugging and turning back to his meal. Chrono took a step into the room, but Lucca quickly grabbed his sleeve, hissing quietly at him. "What are you doing?"

"It would look weird if we just came in and left immediately after, so we might as well make some conversation to keep from having to fight them." He said just as quietly.

Frog considered it. "Indeed, that's a wise decision. Best to avoid confrontation and save our strength for the leader of these degenerates."

Chrono moved over to the naga, racking his brain for any conversation starter. "So, how was the food? It made me a bit sick last time."

"Yeah, it hasn't been great." She said. "But the ones we ate just now weren't so bad. And those two soldiers we just caught look plump and juicy, heeheehee…"

Chrono managed a smile. "Good. Looking forward to it."

The information on the two captured soldiers was valuable, but what the underling told them was pure gold. "Yakra's a genius!" He proclaimed without prompting from Chrono. "His plan to imprison the Chancellor and take on his role worked like magic!"

Chrono, Lucca and Frog's eyes all widened at that news. "I know! It's amazing how stupid the humans are." Chrono said with a wide smile. "This war is as good as won."

"Right! Now thanks to that plan, the Queen is ours and the castle's in an uproar. This is rich!" He let out a loud, bellowing laugh.

The diablo let out one last burp before wiping his hands and stepping back from the table. "Alright, think I'll pay my respects to the Fiendlord's statue before my shift starts." He gave them all a wave before leaving the room.

"We should be getting to work too." Lucca said, giving Chrono a look.

Chrono nodded. "Right. See you all later. Hopefully those soldiers you mentioned will be ready to eat by then." The three left the room quickly, leaving the fiends to their meal.

Once they were outside Frog looked around. "Where did the diablo go?"

The diablo, it turned out, had gone around a corner. They saw him calmly walking along, heading to a door behind the room they were just in. They quickly followed along behind, giving the diablo a chance to enter the room before following along.

They ended up in a long room with five fiends worshipping a statue at the end. They were all singing what sounded like a hymn.

 _Oh, great Magus, Magus the Great_

 _Your eyes are brighter than the stars_

 _Your flowing hair, like waves atop the sea_

 _Even those miserable sunny days abate_

 _When we feel your seething hate_

 _Even brightened halls hold no fear_

 _Just so long as you are near_

Their voices came together in a chorus.

 _Magus, oh Lord Magus_

 _You are our Fiendlord and Savior_

The three rescuers glanced at each other before slowly backing away, but the diablo nearest to them turned upon hearing them. His beaked mouth snarled at them. "Humans! Come, join us in singing your funeral dirge!" Then he launched himself at them, the other fiends in the room following behind.

It was a prolonged, messy battle, and by the time it was over Lucca had several deep scratches while Chrono and Frog were rather bruised.

Chrono immediately went to his childhood friend, checking on her. "Lucca, you okay?"

Lucca winced, holding her side, but gave him a brave smile. "I'll be fine, Chrono."

Frog approached, offering her a vial of red liquid. "Here. I have a few potions for situations such as these. I'm surprised you did not prepare similarly."

Chrono grimaced as Lucca gratefully took the vial, sighing in relief as the alchemical mixture quickly mended her wounds, leaving unblemished skin in place of her previous cuts. "This little rescue attempt wasn't really planned." The young swordsman said. "Our options were limited."

Lucca handed Frog the empty vial back with a thank you before moving to the statue the fiends had been worshiping. "So, that's the Fiendlord, Magus."

The other two joined her. Magus, according to the statue, was a tall man that looked almost human but for the long, pointed ears. His hair was long, flowing down to the middle of his back, and he could be considered handsome, in a cold, cruel way. The statue was posed with Magus looking away, holding a scythe at his side, his gaze dark and forbidding.

"Aye, that is he." Frog said, a dark look on his amphibian face. Chrono lay a hand on Frog's shoulder, prompting him to croak and shake himself out of whatever dark mood he was in. He turned to Chrono and Lucca. "Come. We should continue moving. We do not know how long the Queen has." The others nodded and followed him out of the room.

They continued hunting throughout the facility, avoiding battle when they could, taking down everything in sight when they couldn't. Eventually they ran across a small armory.

"Look for anything that might be of use." Frog said. "They should have some potions and ethers here, which would serve our purposes." Chrono and Lucca nodded before beginning to search.

Chrono, naturally, was drawn to a sword rack, spotting several katanas among them. He picked one up, examining it. "Frog, what do you think of this sword?"

Frog moved over to him, examining the blade with a practiced eye. "It's well forged, of good quality steel. It is better than the bronze blade I see you carry. I would suggest taking it. It will do more damage and be more durable."

Chrono nodded in agreement, though he sighed. He'd just bought his sword less than a day ago. It seemed like such a waste to replace it already. However, he wasn't foolish enough to not take the better option when able.

Quickly strapping the steel sword beside the bronze blade at his waist, he went back to searching for anything else of use.

Lucca was rummaging through some drawers for anything of use, finding a few potions that she quickly slipped into the pouches of her utility belt. It was when she was about to close her current drawer that she found something hidden in the back of it. Curious as to what it could be she pulled it out, blushing heavily when she saw it was a small, very well done drawing. More specifically, an erotic drawing of a topless naga, breasts bare for the world to see, smiling saucily at the artist in a seductive pose.

"Wh-who the hell hides something like this in an armory!?" She practically screeched, face bright red. Chrono blinked at her outburst, moving over to see what had shocked her so much, only to blush as well.

Frog croaked. "What are you talking about?"

Before Lucca could respond the door opened and an underling walked in, pausing when he saw the three. "What the? Humans?" Then his eyes fell on what was in Lucca's hands. "Are you here to steal my bromide!?" He cried.

"Why the hell would we sneak in here just to steal a bromide, you dumbass!?" Lucca snapped back as two more underlings walked in, ready to fight.

"Give it back, give it back! I need it!" The underling yelled.

One of his compatriots looked at him dully. "Marv, you've got a problem."

"Shut it!" Marv growled. "We need to kill the humans!"

Chrono swiftly dashed forward, drawing his new sword and stabbing towards the unarmored throat of the underling closest to him, catching him by surprise. He quickly fell over, gasping wetly for breath as his fellow fiends stared dumbly. That's when Frog launched himself in for a strike with a powerful leap and Lucca fired her gun. The fight was over in seconds.

"Well… That was pointless." Chrono said after a moment.

They left the armory shortly afterward and continued exploring. Eventually they found a door with spikes on the floor surrounding it, obviously not letting anybody through. However, they found a switch nearby that retracted the spikes, allowing them through. Inside they found two men, one of them sitting on a table, the other pacing. Both looked rather beat up, with bruises on their faces and exposed skin.

The pacing man looked up at them, eyes burning with rage. "What do you want now, you filthy fie-" He stopped, staring. "W-wait, you're human." Then he blinked when he saw Frog. "And I've heard of you. You're a friend of the Queen's."

Frog croaked. "Correct. You must be the two captured soldiers we heard mentioned."

The man on the table got up, wincing, and Lucca quickly handed each man a potion vial, which they took gratefully. "You're here to rescue the Queen?"

Chrono nodded. "Yes. Do you know where they're keeping her?"

The first soldier responded after gulping down the potion. "Yes. She's being kept in the very back of this place. There will be many fiends in the way."

"Don't worry, we'll rescue her." Lucca assured them.

"There's an armory not far from here. Go arm yourselves and then get out." Chrono said before providing the men with directions out of there.

"Thank you." The men saluted the three before quickly leaving, moving easier now thanks to the potions.

Frog looked at his companions. "We know where the Queen is. Let us hurry."

Chrono and Lucca nodded, following him out.

* * *

It took them another half hour of fighting and sneaking to reach the back of the lair, but they finally did so. All three quickly took sips of potion as they prepared themselves to enter the door leading into Yakra's chambers. "Alright boys, you ready?" Lucca asked.

Frog and Chrono nodded, gripping their weapons tightly, and the amphibian proceeded to open the door, leading the way.

"Prepare yourself, Queen Leene. It is time you bid farewell to this world." They heard as they entered, prompting them to rush forward.

At the end of the large room was a great stone table. Several chests lined the walls, no doubt full of the fiends' plunder. Standing in front of the table was a beautiful blonde woman dressed in rather ripped and scuffed up finery. Behind it was the Chancellor, who Chrono had briefly seen in the castle.

The Chancellor looked shocked when he saw the three run up. "You! How did you get in here?"

Queen Leene turned, letting them see her face clearly. Chrono and Marle were struck by her looks. She looked almost exactly like Marle. The only real difference they could see in her was most likely caused by being older than Marle was. It was eerily uncanny.

"Frog!" She cried happily, a smile on her lips as her eyes lit up.

Frog stepped forward and knelt. "Flee, Your Majesty! We shall dispatch this fiend."

Leene nodded and began rushing passed them to the back of the room. "Be careful!" She called as she passed.

Frog turned from her back to the Chancellor, drawing his blade as he rose from kneeling as the Chancellor began to laugh. "Gah ha ha! There's no use in fighting! None of you will leave this place alive!"

Chrono and Lucca drew their weapons as Frog croaked. "We shall escort the Queen from your vile clutches, creature."

The Chancellor seethed. "Intolerable frog! Let us see you hop your way out of this!" He smiled unpleasantly, far too many teeth showing. "Enough with this Chancellor charade." He growled in a low, monstrous voice. as his flesh began to bubble and flex, his short stature growing as energy bled off him in arcs of electricity. his shoulders hunched as a large, yellow carapace appeared over his form, several opening all over it. His eyes became dark and beady above a mouth of fangs, horns growing from his forehead while all body hair fell off, and several more limbs grew from his sides. The monster let out a screech as, standing in the fake Chancellor's place stood the leader of this lair of fiends, Yakra.

Yakra immediately dropped to his many limbs and charged at Lucca with great speed. Lucca yelped and jumped away, barely avoiding getting splatter against the wall, which Yakra impacted, leaving a large dent surrounded by cracks. He turned, eyes gazing malevolently at the girl, only to be surprised when she shot him right between the horns. He yelped slightly, surprised, allowing Chrono to rush forward, slashing at Yakra.

Yakra growled as his carapace protected him, a deep cut left in the chitin, showing Chrono's strength. Yakra stood back up suddenly and batted the redhead away, making him land on his side with a grunt.

Frog, to his companions' surprised, launched a long tongue at Yakra, which stuck to him firmly. He then reeled his tongu in, using it to launch himself at Yakra with an extra application of his powerful legs. His blade came around and left a deep gash on Yakra's belly, where he was less protected. Then he disengaged his tongue before the fiend could slash at it.

The fight proceeded in this manner for several long minutes, the rescuers making slow but steady progress while Yakra got more and more angry and desperate. Finally the fiend had enough. "Fine, take this, you irritants!" He lowered himself on all his legs once again, protecting his vulnerable belly, and the opening in his carapace began to shift and contract. Soon several large needles, more akin to spears, launched from his back, spinning furiously as they flew at Frog.

Frog managed to dodge with another prodigious leap, but the needles exploded when they hit the ground, adding more momentum than the swordsman intended, making him slam into the wall with a croak.

Yakra was about to take advantage of Frog's momentary incapacitation when Lucca rushed forward, pulling something out of her bag. "Hey ugly! You're not the only one with new tricks to use!" She pulled out a bottle with an odd nozzle at the end, a small flame burning below the nozzle. When she squeezed its oversized trigger a burst of flame shot out, covering Yakra, who screamed and reared up, trying to put out the flames that were covering him now.

Frog and Chrono, seeing their opportunity, launched themselves forward, Chrono using his natural speed and Frog his strong legs, and both slashed at Yakra's belly together, the momentum of they attacks making them bite deeply, blood and ichor flooding out as Yakra let out one final screech before he fell forward, dead, his body still burning.

The three stood watching the corpse burn, breathing heavily. "Is it over?" Lucca asked.

Frog slowly approached the body, prodding it with his sword. "It appears so. Well done with the timely intervention."

"Yeah." Chrono addaed. "That's my Lucca. Always something up her sleeves." Lucca blushed and smiled.

The Queen slowly approached the three, beaming as she looked at them before eyes fell on Frog. "Thank you, Frog. I knew you'd come to rescue me."

Frog once again moved forward and knelt. "His Majesty awaits most anxiously. We should return to the castle". Then he stood and turned to his companions, croaking happily. "And I thank you, Chrono and Lucca, for your aid."

Leene nodded. "And I as well. Please, accompany us to the castle. You will be most welcome guests."

Chrono bowed as Lucca did her best to curtsy. "Of course, Your Highness. Besides, there are still fiends around. This won't be a successful rescue till you are safely in the castle." Chrono said.

Frog croaked again. "Indeed, Chrono is right. Our job is not done just yet."

Lucca cocked her head to the side. "Say, do you hear that?" The others went silent and listened. They heard it then, a thumping sound coming from one of the chests along the walls. Gripping their weapons, the three moved forward warily, Queen Leene hanging back nerveously. When they reached the thumping chest Chrono slowly reached forward before opening it and jumping back, ready to draw. Instead he blinked alongside the others at the sight that greeted them.

Inside the chest was the tied and gagged form of the true Chancellor. He looked a bit drawn, obviously not having been taken care of, and his eyes were wide with fear till he caught sight of Frog. "Mrf mfl!" He tried to get out through the gag.

The three immediately pulled the man out of the chest and began to untie him, removing the gag first as the Queen stepped forward, eyes wide. "Chancellor! I thought you had been killed by Yakra when he took your place!"

The Chancellor responded once his gag had been removed. "No, Your Majesty. He kept me alive. Why, I know not." He stood up when they finished untying him. "Whew, thank you. That monster stuck me in there like a sack of coin."

"You're not hurt, are you?" Lucca asked.

The Chancellor shook his head. "No, young lady. Aching, and hungry like you would not believe, but I'll live."

The Queen smiled. "I'm glad. We shouldn't tarry any longer then. I believe we could all do with a meal and some rest."

Frog stepped forward. "Allow me to lead the way out."

The Queen nodded and stepped back as Chrono and Lucca took position on either side and slightly behind her, covering her from attack as much as possible. Satisfied, Frog led the way out.

* * *

 _ **Hey all! So, been a while on this story, huh?**_

 _ **I apologize deeply for that. Unfortunately my 3DS got broken on a trip in December, and I wasn't able to get it repaired till now. I didn't want to continue without being able to reference the game, and I could have played the iOS version, but... blech.**_

 _ **In any case, this story isn't dead, and it is now back in rotation with my other fics. I have many, though, so it won't get updated terribly often. Though you can fix that, if you want!**_

 _ **I now have a Pat A Ron. just go to /athanmortis. For every dollar you donate, you get one vote as to what I work on each month. So if you want to see this updated more often, drop me a dollar and vote for it. Alternatively you could vote for any of my other fics. Up to you!**_

 _ **Anyway, I think I'll leave this here for now. I hope you all enjoyed the new chapter. Till next time.**_


End file.
